The Storytelling Adventures of Red Phoenix

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After San Francisco the next and last stop was Montreal for the SCCC (Storytellers of Canada) national conference. However I did make one final pit stop in Toronto to try and rest as the all the travelling was beginning to take it toll and to it gave me the chance to say goodbye to people in the hostel that had made Toronto home over the last month, and who I hope our paths will cross again.Thank you so much to Lindon, Pete, Dave, Dimitri, Laura, Sandra, Mary, Anna, Iman, Stephie, Nicole, Marijanka, Mossy, Hendrik, Kathrin, Amelia, Gordiano, Robbie, Goran, Marcin and Vera for making Toronto unforgettable, it was a barrel of a time!

With one last teary glance I said farewell and headed for Montreal a few days later than planned, and several hours later thanks to the bus deciding it had its own special timetable (at this point in my travels I was so over the bus journeys, to other WCMT travellers I give this piece of advice… take the train, or in fact just treat yourself to the plane, you’ll have more energy to do your work!) Finally reached Montreal, tired, hungry and on the brink of a hypo, then I found the storytellers with food, and soon sleep and the world was a better place!

The next morning the conference started, and just like the NSN conference a whirl of faces and names, workshops and performances filled the area, and information and contacts abound at every avenue. I will admit that my energy levels were not what they had been in Cincinnati, and getting up early and staying up late to catch people to chat about youth storytelling just wasn’t physically possible, and with the venue having no air-con everyone was finding staying awake tricky. However I did manage a conversation here and there, interviews, and I came away from it with pockets of cards to contact people who I knew I wouldn’t get the chance to talk over the weekend. I spoke to Jennifer Caley about how she got the Canadian arts council to recognise storytelling as an art form in its own right, which would hugely beneficial around in UK. Ruthanne Edward’s workshop on Story Slams was a wealth of discussion about getting young/youth into storytelling, and the methods, and the AGM of the conference was unlike any AGM I have ever been too, so much fun and silliness… got to say I approved.

The SCCC 2012 Storyquilt, I so wanted this, its a beautiful idea!!!

I also got to see the Story quilt, which is a bit of a Tradition, a new one is made each year byt the storytellers and the auditioned off to raise money to support the ‘Story Save’ project, which aims to record the voices of the older storytellers in the community, so they aren’t lost forever.

The Lovely Ladies from Ottawa, Gail, Ruthanne, Caitlyn and Me

It was also really lovely to see many of the tellers I had met on my way around Canada, Mary from St John’s, Dan, Donna, Marylyn and Molly from Toronto, and the lovely ladies from Ottawa Gail, Ruthanne and Caitlyn, Dear Ole Winston even turned up on my last night…

Sir Winston, hanging on the wall of the Sir Winston Churchill Pub, Montreal

I can honestly say I never wanted the final hours of my trip to come, and found that I could of happily spent the whole six weeks in each place I went and still had more questions and more contacts to discover. I had some of my pre-trip thoughts confirmed, I had some questions answers, and discovered many more to ask. I was inspired by people, stories, places, moments, chocolate and the generosity of everyone I met my way around. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust has awarded me, and have appreciated each and every moment people have spared to talk, listen and advise me, and even cheered me on from back home. I may not always had as much time with people as I would have like, but every second counted and has touched, inspired, and altered me forever.

I have learnt that for all I want to achieve in my project this trip was not the whole conversation, but the beginning of a dialogue, so I know already that I will return and hopefully often and soon.

So after the course not running I went up to Ottawa to visit the story circle there I travelled by Greyhound (a 5hr journey where I read ‘A Monster Calls’ which Shonaleigh Cumbers recommended, and whilst it was an amazing book it resulted in me crying for the last hour of the journey… I got a few funny looks) and was met off the bus by Caitlyn Paxson of the Ottawa Storytellers. We went for dinner and met up with Ruthanne Edward, both of whom were a mind of information about what was happening in youth storytelling in Ottawa and I was most impressed with the different activities, such as the story slams which Ruthanne set up. We then went to the Story Circle where such wonderful tales were told and shared. Ottawa was such a warm bunch of people and Gail Anglin was a delightful hostess with story conversation into the night and first thing in the morning. Definitely worth a repeat visit.

The next day I found myself back on the bus back to Toronto to arrive in time to attend the 1001 nights in Toronto, which was a diverse blend ofstories, ages and cultures and the stories reflected that. I met a number of people who use storytelling in schools. Saturday was an early start to the StoryTent in St Clare West, and its was a lovely day where I told a number of stories and met more storytellers we even had time to have a huge conversation about youth projects around the world, my pen had a hard time keeping up. Since then I have been invited back to that site everyday for different projects, which included a group for differently abled folks and a womens group where I got feed and given a lovely massage after I finished telling. They were really keen for me to come back again, but it is time for me to start thinking about the next town and the next adventure. Although it is with a heavy heart and much resistance I will leave Toronto, I would quite happily stay for good!

Thanks again for reading and many thanks to Storytelling Toronto and Ottawa Storytellers for being so generous and welcoming.